Marathon negotiations in Islamabad ended without a breakthrough after Washington said Tehran refused to accept terms centred on nuclear weapons, leaving the future of a fragile ceasefire uncertain.
Talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad ended without agreement after around 21 hours of negotiations, with US Vice-President J.D. Vance saying the central obstacle was Tehran’s refusal to commit to abandoning any pursuit of nuclear weapons.
According to reporting from Islamabad, he told journalists that the Iranian side had rejected American terms requiring a clear commitment not to develop a nuclear weapon. He also said the US delegation had travelled to Pakistan in good faith, had made what he described as a flexible offer, and had left its “final and best offer” on the table before departing.
The negotiations formed part of a broader attempt to preserve a ceasefire after weeks of conflict and regional instability. Earlier reporting on the diplomatic initiative had indicated that Pakistan was trying to broker a two-stage process beginning with an immediate halt to hostilities and then moving towards a wider settlement covering sanctions, maritime security and Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iran’s position appeared more cautious than Washington’s public presentation of the talks. Accounts from the negotiating process suggested Iranian officials believed some issues had been discussed constructively, but that major differences remained and no final agreement had been expected in a single round. Tehran also appeared to point to wider disputes beyond the nuclear file, including security and maritime questions.
The failure of the Islamabad talks leaves open the question of whether the existing ceasefire can hold. During the negotiations, it was also reported that the wider diplomatic process was closely tied to security in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a route of major global economic significance. Any renewed escalation would therefore carry implications beyond the immediate US-Iran relationship, affecting energy markets, shipping and the broader regional balance.
For now, no new round of talks has been formally announced. Washington is clearly seeking to place responsibility for the failure on Tehran, while Iran appears to be signalling that diplomacy is not necessarily over.
